Installment One: Arbitration

Tadath, Vast Empire Army Headquarters, 0900 Hours

The halls of HQ are many and always fluttered with activity. In midmorning, it becomes especially active as personnel meander their ways to their desks and officers and otherwise boring positions in the Imperial Army. The midmorning sun gives a soothing illumination through the thousands of windows scattered among the grounds, bathing passerbys in warm light if only for a moment. But at this particular moment, down Corridor H420, there is no activity, illumination, or warmth.

Corridor H420 is located near the the core of the HQ, and leads directly to Hearing Room Two. The entire area is a foreboding place, not only for the bleak and dreary decoration of the back halls, but for the tales of those poor soldiers who fell victim to judgment in Hearing Room Two. The masters presiding over the place kept that perception up with their dramatic Hearings. Today, at this moment, Gunnery Sergeant Garet Daimun was the star of the next blockbuster.

Hearing Room Two was dark, and quiet. Occasionally the rustling of a paper or a barely audible whisper would ring through the especially strong acoustics, and send a shiver down Daimun's spine. Being in this room seemed to give him a very small, petulant terror. The fact he was to face this place in the first place was enough to unnerve him, but the moral dilemma of the situation at hand didn't help either. Daimun knew the reason he was in the room, and knew that he was to defend himself, for, in the eyes of the Army, his actions had been terribly, terribly wrong.

Slowly, a light grew into existence at the front of the room and three faces, or rather chins of faces, came into perception. Another light exposed, dimly, the visage of a tattered Imperial Banner hanging on the wall behind the masters of Hearing Room Two. The three Arbiters' lower faces were stone; without movement, pale, but that said it all. As if they had reached out to him telepathically, Daimun began to open his mouth. Suddenly, a bright light shone around him. What little decoration on his formal uniform reflected the light in small spots on the walls; his fettered hands still, constricted by shackles . He was front and center, at disposal of the Arbiters.

Daimun squinted to see through the light. It was blinding following the total darkness, and after he tried to endure the pain his eyes were taking, he gave in and looked at the ground to shield himself. From nowhere, but everywhere, a shrill, female's voice rang through the room.

"Gunnery Sergeant Garet Daimun," it beckoned him. He tried to look up, but was blinded, and quickly returned to his humbled position. "You are here on trial, you will answer our questions honestly and as accurate as you can. Do you comply willingly?"

Daimun hesitated. The metallic rustling of shackles indicated a tensity in his muscles. His head tilted slightly, as to indicate his disfavor towards the question. He nodded, meagerly at first then with more intensity, and called out to the faceless voice, "Yes."

"You also agree that, at the closing of this Arbitration, the verdict is final and your position and rank in the Army of the Vast Empire is subject to termination?"

Daimun's head came to a slow stop. "I do," he mumbled in despair towards the ground.

"The Arbiters thank you for your cooperation. I think that, in order to better understand the circumstances, a full explanation, from your perspective, is required. So, please start at the beginning and try your best to recount everything."

Garet looked up, finally his eyes were able to bear the light through squinting. The Arbiters seemed closer and more haunting. Through tired and hurt pained eyes Garet begun.

"Nkllon is a," he stumbled, every word he uttered would be dissected and scrutinized, "is a unique planet. One that I thought would never need to venture to..."


Two Weeks Earlier


"Nkllon is not a planet you would want to spend a vacation at," Kairo's voice resounded through the briefing room. Both Eclipse and Nightstalkers had been called to attend, creating a cramped environment. A large projection of the planet Nkllon hovered behind Kairo, where he stood on a dais at the end far end of the room. "The planet Nkllon is located in the Athega system, which is in the Expansion Region. This places it relatively close to our vicinity. Nkllon has a very close orbit around the Athega sun, causing its surface to be inhabitable. While it revolves around its axis, Nkllon's dayside becomes super heated and seared with intense radiation. The outer layer of rock begins to melt and lava rivers flow across its surface. Volcano activity is very high and if you are caught on its surface in the sun, you will be incinerated in a matter of seconds. The planet's surface is also marred with impact craters and other natural formations created by the intense motion of the searing rock surface."

Kairo paused a second to hit a button on his control panel. The image of Nkllon's spinning form disappeared to be replaced by a surface picture. One half of the screen displayed a rolling image of the day side of the planet. The other half showed the night side. "As you can see, the night side is still inhospitable. Once the rock cools down, it is still relatively hot. It is only really safe to step onto its surface while in specialized heat resistant suits and only after the rock surface has cooled for a few hours. No one has bothered trying to walk on its surface and figure out the exact amount of time, so this data is all scientific. Any questions before I continue?"

A few people raised their hands. "Yes, Kantar?"

"If it is impossible to really even step on this planet's surface, what could we possibly be going there for?"

"I didn't say it was impossible, just not smart. I'll answer the second question when I continue. Anyone else?" Kairo looked around, and nodded to Rigimo.

"These specialized suits you mentioned, does the army have them at its disposal?"

"Yes, and I'll mention your main equipment later. Anyone else?" Kairo paused for a second. "Good. Now, just because you can't survive on the surface of the planet and create a surface dwelling does not mean that a city has not been created. A group of specialists and entrepreneurs have created a moving city. Nomad City to be precise." Kairo hit a button to display the city. "Parts of it are still under construction, but the majority of the living areas and mining facilities are completed. The city is situated atop forty AT-AT walkers. The city constantly moves across Nkllon's surface, staying on the night side. This is mainly a mining facility. No one goes here for fun. There are a few merchant establishments of course a cantina or two, but the majority of all space is for living areas for the crew and miners. The main purpose of Nomad city is to mine the ore on Nkllon's surface. When the surface has been super heated, it creates ample opportunities to dig. Does anyone have a question about the city?"

"Where did the people that created this get the walkers?" Jag Fel piped up.

"Good question, but superfluous," Kairo answered, which meant he either did not know or was not willing to give the true answer. "Any others? Alright. Now that that background has been established, I can go into the mission details. Through our intelligence branch, we have received some information. A local agent placed on Nomad City picked up a transmission stating that the prisoners had been safely transferred. Intel has reason to believe these prisoners are Imperial POWs. Unfortunately, the rest of the message was garbled and the precise details are still unknown. To make it simple, our main goal is to go to Nomad City and contact the local Intelligence agent. After that, we are then to credit the information and solidify our need to be there. If the POWs are on planet, we are to search and rescue them. The reason we are using you two and not a special ops squad is simple. It would be very difficult to hide and imprison a large group of people on Nomad city. Therefore, there is suspicion that an underground installation on the planet is where they are being held." A few gasps rolled through the room. "There is no proof of this, so don't worry. I doubt we'll have to move onto the surface, but just in case, that is why the two quickest squads have been chosen. So objective one, contact the agent, and object two, find the POWs. Any question about that?"

There was only stunned silence. "Very well. Now, since this is a New Republic held planet, we can't make our presence particularly known. So, this is an under-the-table mission, meaning if we are caught or killed, we will not be identified with the Empire. We will be going to Nkllon on board a Barloz Medium Freighter." The image and statistics of the freighter appeared on the display. "It only has a crew of two and four passengers. As you can see though, its cargo space is large. We will be going in the guise of a supply transport. We are there to drop off supplies and meet with our local group. Don't worry about that part. That's only to gain access to the city. Once landed, they could care less what we do. Anyways, half the cargo area will contain actual supplies that will be unloaded. The rest will be the space for the remainder of the squads to spend the trip. Our equipment will also be stored in that space separate from the rest. Needless to say, most of you will be uncomfortable. The reason we can't just fly in, is because to get to Nkllon, we have to use the aid of a shield ship down to the surface. They don't just hand them out to anybody that arrives. The transport is ready and waiting on the landing area with our equipment in it. Any questions so far?'

Kairo used this moment to take a sip of water. "Then I just have to tell you your equipment before you are dismissed. We will not be using our standard armor, due to that signifying us as Imperials and to its uselessness on the surface. Nightstalkers will still have their jetpacks, but will only have helmets and breastplates if needed. Both are a nondescript black. I advise everyone in Nightstalkers to equip themselves with some form of under armor that can be concealed beneath your clothes. I realize that limits you down to just base protection from falls and melee, but we have orders. Eclipse will have their specialized armor, which has been layered with a special coating to give them heat resistance. This is incase they need to go to the surface. Their armor allows them to survive without oxygen for awhile, which is needed on Nkllon's surface. You can bring two weapons of your desire, and the standard squad fire arms for each squad have already been packed away. If you have any questions about this, see me or Garet after the meeting. Which is now. Be down at the landing area in an hour. Dismissed."

Kairo shut down the projector and picked up his datapad, sliding into his pocket. As the room filed out, he walked over to Garet and said, "I have a bad feeling about this one, but we have our assignment. Even I can't change it."

"Well, we'll just have to wing it," Garet responded.


Installment Two: Cargo

Tadath, Vast Empire Army Headquarters, 0930 Hours

Garet was cut off by a second, gruff, accented voice of a middle aged man. "That's all you were informed of the situation? Was the intelligence so limited?"

"I answered honestly and accurately," Garet retorted, mocking the earlier words of the Arbiters. "To the best of my ability."

"Then before we continue," the gruff voice sounded ready to get to the bottom of the incident quickly, "tell us about the new armor your Squad was equipped with. Was it sanctioned by the armor? The technology seems rather experimental."

Garet felt he needed to defend the quality of which Eclipse was working, and took the last statement to heart. "The armor was fine, worked perfectly."

"Then," gruff paused, sounding excited, "You agree that it was an ineptitude of yourself." He led on. "That it was some fault of your own that has led you to our chamber."

Garet had been caught in a corner. "Well, I take responsibility for the actio-"

"So you agree."

"Yes." Garet said, bluntly and courageously, testing the patience of those judging him. The room had transformed in a way with that statement. It got lighter. Everything was so much more defined and clear. A haze of doubt had been magically lifted, and Garet's confidence rose.

"So, let's hear what you have to say about Nomad City. Hell, let's start with the departure."


Two Weeks Earlier, Post-Meeting


Garet walked down the towards the hangar, duffel bags in tow, leading the rest of Eclipse as the mother duck leads the ducklings. When they managed to all squeeze onto the lift that went down to the hangar, Garet hit a button and let the floor drop. Everyone was quiet, likely thinking about the mission, but RK broke the silence.

"So what's about this 'special armor' Commander Kairo mentioned?" he said, enthusiasm filled.

Garet had completely forgot. "Oh, yeah, the armor. It's on the ship. I'll fill you guys in when we get there."


OOC: Thanks to Kairo, who wrote the Briefing for the mission (between "Two Weeks Earlier" and "Installment Two"). Sorry for the length, but if you haven't read it word for word, I recommend you do. The style can be confusing because it's "new".

-----------------------
EclipseSquad

SL/GSG Garet Daimun/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA [ES2C] [ES1C] [IH]

If I tell you my name you got to let me in,
You can be the sinner and I'll be the sin,
I take what I want and it's easy to see
I've got everything~

Riqimo stood in the back of the briefing room, as with both the Nightstalkers and Eclipse in the room, there was not enough chairs to go around.  His thoughts were drifting to his new rank, wondering how he rose so fast from a mere recruit.  I hope I can prove myself to my squad that I am capable, I hope that I don't make a mistake  However, when Kairo turned the holoprojetor image of the planet on, Riqimo pushed the thoughts aside and started paying attention.

After the meeting, Riqimo headed for his room, figuring he better get his equipment together, An undercover mission, I think this is a perfect time for those wrist lasers  Walking past RK's room, he heard a crash and peeked in.  Upon Riqimo opening the door, RK got up instantly and saluted.  Huh, why? Oh yeah, I'm ASL

"At ease," Riqimo gave his first order, embarrassed at the attention RK was giving him, "I heard a lot of noise"

RK just responded he was cleaning and Riqimo glanced about at the shards of glass on the floor and nodded, he responded that the squad would be headed for their shuttle in about two hours.  Then Riqimo turned a sharp 180 degree turn to avoid stepping on any glass and left.  I shouldn't have turned like that, now he thinks I'm mocking him.

Moving to his room, Riqimo started placing his weapons on his bed, and sent RK a small datapad message.  Odds are he'll read it later though.  Pulling his medkit out, he decided that he would have to bring a smaller size, since a large one would draw too much attention.  Pulling out his secret weapon stash beneath his bed, Riqimo pulled out his neuronic whip, and then his wrist lasers.  Hmm, maybe we all can use some wrist lasers, ah what the heck, I'll toss a few to the squad armoury.

Riqimo peeked out into the hallway and seeing no one there, quietly closed his door and locked it.  Lifting his bed spread, he revealed a small box, on which he punched a key code.  the box clicked open and Riqimo gazed at the credits inside...

Republic credits... These might come in handy, they were left over from my smuggling days... 27,213 credits to be exact... Hopefully they will help us blend in a bit if we have the right currency.

Riqimo stashed the credits into his Barabel vest and pushed the box back under the bed spread.

Taking a quick glance around, he made sure nothing he wasn't supposed to have here wasn't laying about and he opened the door and stepped into the hallway.

he heard a female voice call out, "Doc!"

Turning around Riq saw the new trooper of Eclipse and replied, "Oh hi, Brightstar, you need something?"

"Yes, I uh, am not sure where everything is." she replied, obviously unsure how he would react.

Riqimo laughed, "Oh, I had the same problem, except I had a protocol droid give confusing instructions instead of a fellow trooper, sure where you headed?"

Brightstar smiled her uncertainty now gone, "Thanks, I need to find our barracks."

"Oh, that's not too far, I'll walk you there if that's okay."

She nodded and Riqimo turned to lock his door, "My apartment is here if you ever need any help, I'm available anytime to our squad members, you just need to drop me a line.  Now let's head to the barracks, eh?"

Together they headed down the hall, talking about their past lives...

"You were a smuggler?" Brightstar asked as they passed the mess hall, "I cannot imagine someone like you that way."

"Well I was one of those few 'noble' smugglers, if there is such a thing," Riq shrugged, "It got me into, uh...  a little trouble in my past..."

"What kind of trouble?" Brightstar asked as she raised her eyebrow.

Riq avoided the subject by pointing to his left, "That would be Garet's office and the turbolift over there will take you to the hanger Eclipse uses on level twelve."

Brightstar took the hint and dropped the topic.

A little while later, they arrived outside the barracks, "Well here you go, odds are Jelly and Jag are in there, now if you excuse me, I gotta check in with Dr. Godot and tell him I'm not going to be around for a while..."

....

Riqimo dashed off, Ah, why did I avoid that question, she was genuinely interested...

His subconcious mind replied, you can't be too careful, some around here would love to claim that hefty bounty on your head...

No! She wouldn't so that!

Riqimo forced these thoughts out of his mind and left to get a drink.

------
Later, 30 minutes before launch
------
Hanging around at a nearby pub, Riqimo was relaxing while reviewing additional data on the planet they were being sent to, the holonet screen flickered.

Riqimo almost spilled his drink when he pulled up the file on the fireworm.

In physical appearance, it had a triangular head, with pointed ear tufts and bony eye ridges. Insulated air bladders allowed the lava dragon to rise or sink in the lava. Lava dragons fed on other reptiles that dwelt within the lava pools.
Lava dragons were able to suck lava down their armored gullets and spew it back out in a dangerous natural defensive mechanism.

Reading farther on the Nkllon information, Riqimo was disgusted to see that Nomad City was founded by Lando Calrissian.  But he stopped reading when he realized he was running a little late and  had to run to make it to the docking bay on time.

(OOC We all have wrist lasers available in the squad account now, if you want to use one, go ahead and consider it one of your weapon choices. They are a nice high-powered concealed weapons for discrete yet powerful personal protection.)


-----------------------
Riqimo "Doc" Pershaw
EclipseSquad


ASL/LCP Riqimo/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA
Imperial Baronet

Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to war we go, we'll find some Rebels or lose our marbles, hi ho, hi ho

Antiquis temporibus, nati tibi similes in rupibus ventosissimis exponebantur ad necem.

After the briefing on the mission Jelly went to find some way to pass the time away. He decided to get his gear together and then wait in meditation. He quickly packed away his Deathwind in an easyily concealabe carrying case and then set up a cloak to conceal his deathwind, vibroblade, and his armor.

When preparations where done with the set up Jelly checked the clock. There was just about time to get a small sparring session in with his vibroblade with one of the training droids.

Jelly grabbed his sword and proceeded to the training section of the base. He dropped his bag outside the small enclosed room so that he didnt have to make a return trip and could proceed to the hanger.

Jelly put the droid at a medium setting because he didnt want to work up a little sweat. None of the current droids in the training area could keep up with him so he decided to toy with it to see how well its A.I would fair. After blocking some very weak slashes he decided to end it and swiftly decapitated the droid.

"What a pain" Jelly said to himself "Well I should go meet the rest of the group."

Jelly sprinted to the hanger to meet his squad which had taken some loses from the invasion on Illum. The Nightstalker squad was there as well.

Jelly walked over and joined Jag and Riqimo who where talking about the upcoming mission.


"Well this is gonna be fun huh guys our first real squad mission."

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EclipseSquad

TRP/PFC Jelly Bean/2SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE/Tadath

"Only problem with my Job is I dont get the pleasure of seeing the shock on your face when My Bullet passes through the back of your Skull"

Eclipse Motto:
"Get rid of your pride, because we all die eventually."

It was after Doc had shown her to the barracks that Brightstar began to wonder why the Medic had so quickly changed the subject about his past. Shaking her head she entered the Barracks to ready herself for the mission to Nkllon. During the Briefing she hadn't remembered ever reading about the planet, but now that she had time to think about it, she did remember something during her Galactic Geography lessons back on Bakura. It wasn't a very well known of planet, aside from Nomad City and the reports of Fireworms. Other than that she hadn't known very much at all, That was untill the briefing.

Kneeling beside her bed when she reached it, Brightstar slid her arms underneath and gently pulled out a package wrapped first in oiled cloth and second in lizard hide. She set it on her bed just as gently and reached under again and pulled out another Lizard hide wrapped package. Finally the last thing she pulled out was a locked box. Opening the box with a small nastalgic smile, Brightstar ran her fingers over a Violet hued jumpsuit made entirely of the Hides from the native lizards that lived on Dathomir. It wasn't so very different from that of Barabel hide, but is was servicible and durable to boot. The Armor had only been modified recently by the man who had raised her on Bakura, to fit her height and bust.

Next she unwrapped the other two packages. The first she was very careful with. She couldn't remember if these Items had been sheathed or not. Lifting  the hide she sighed in relief and heft the two Identical daggers. Dagger Thorns her adoptive father had called them. These daggers secreted venomous sap; just a scratch was enough to kill a human adult*. Though Bright didn't think she would have to resort to using them, she was sure they would come in handy. The second package contained Two Fire Blades. The Fire blade was a strange cutting tool that was originally created on the planet Dathomir. It was believed that the original purpose of the blade was to cauterize the claws of captured domesticated Kwi. To do this, the blade itself was energized to allow it to cut objects easily. While at first a basic tool, after Uda-Khalid ustilized these blades on his forearms they quickly served a new purpose as a weapon for combat**. These particular Fire blades had been used by Brightstars biological mother.

Nodding at her choice in weapons, Brightstar looked around the barracks to be sure no men were around and quickly changed into her Lizard hide armor. After that was done she slid a simple white shirt over her head and pulled on a pair of black pants over her equally long Armor breeches. Pulling on her Dathomiri made boots, Brightstar looked at her chronometer, hurriedly she stuffed the remainder of her things into her bag including another pair of boots, her Double sheathed Dagger thorns, and her Mothers Fire Blades.

Taking a deep breath and looking around to see if she had missed anything, Bright made her way to the Hangar to meet up with the rest of her squad and the Nightstalkers.

"I have a bad feeling about this." She whispered quietly as she entered just in time. Weather anybody heard her or not she didn't know. This was her first mission and she had to admit she was a tad bit frightened.

(*-The place I found the info on the Dagger Thorns. http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Dagger_Thorns

**- The place I found the Info on the Fire Blades. http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Fire_blade)



 
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Eclipse Squad


TRP/PFC Brightstar D'Jonoc/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA

Garet stopped abruptly at the large cargo door looming over the Squad. The feet shuffling behind him stopped as he did and he turned to face them. He was confused for a moment as two new faces feel upon him, then remembered the folder in his hand. Letting his duffel drop, Garet opened the file.

Two faces stared back at him, paper clipped to the cover of the folder. He verified that these two were the new troopers with a quick glance and snapped the folder shut. The cargo door began to slide open and Garet took the small pause to say a quick word.

"For all who haven't met with these two," the squad's eyes shifted from the door to Garet, "this is Private D'Jonoc," he signaled to the lone female of the group, "Callsign is..." he flipped open the folder again, "Callsign is Brightstar."

Everyone murmured their own welcomes to Brightstar, trying to brush them off. Garet continued. "And this," motioning towards the man with a blue tattoo on his face, "is Private MkVenner. Callsign MkVenner." He waited for the second waive of murmurs before adding "Welcome to the Squad."

At this point, the cargo bay was fully ajar and the squad moved inside the ship. Garet tossed his duffel bag on top of one of the many crates scattered through the area and move to a very long box up against the wall. He let the Squad settle in for the trip. Each one picked his or her own spot and marked it with their personal belongings. Riqimo, Jag, and JB set up close to one another as usual, with a new addition: Brightstar. The four of them seemed to be getting along fine, so Garet let them chat it up while they could. Venner seemed to be admiring a display of knives RK had unraveled from his bag, the glint of which created a disco feeling throughout the fading light of the cargo bay. Garet was satisfied with their apathy towards the mission, but more so with the chance he had to go to get away.

Garet followed his feet to a small, bright bathroom not far from the bay. He made sure to lock the door behind him. Privacy wasn't common in the Army, and the small moments when it could be found were cherished by the Leader. He twisted the handle labeled "Hot" and let the water slowly fill up the sink. The face that stared back at him from the wall sized mirror had a sad, almost desperate look as the heat-induced fog filled the room. It captivated him, this person that looked back at him. He couldn't believe how his emotions affected his appearance; he tried to hide them the best he could. But the visage was lost as fog consumed it, and Garet shoved it to the back of his mind with a quick stroke of a hand against the mirror.

A rather long shave and a quick recomposure later Garet left the small, sauna-like room. He emerged back into the cargo bay with the usual emotionless face amid a burst of spontaneous laughter. All of the Eclipse troopers had gathered near to tell stories of various natures and the last was one of the rare laughable ones. Garet ignored this, not in the mood to laugh. And as he grabbed a nearby crowbar with a rather menacing look, the others weren't in the mood to laugh anymore either. Garet stuck the metal into a crack in the long crate up against the wall and shoved downwards, prying the top off and revealing the newest equipment to Eclipse.

"These are the new suits," Garet explained to the now interested troopers. The entire row was suit after suit of shiny, white armor, each made distinct by the various markings and blast shields attached. A single datapad rested on the chest of each, waiting to be explored by eager minds. "The Eclipse Advanced Reconnaissance Tactical Suit, or EAST for short. Learn to love them, they'll be your second skin, and only protection from the deadly surface, on this mission." Garet gave a chance for everyone to gather around and enjoy the new equipment. "The EAST is fully equipped with targeting, enhancers, sensors, even grappling hooks. The full description is located on those datapads. Now, if you haven't noticed already," Garet started walking down the lane, "each one of these 'uniques' is unique. They all have the Eclipse insignia used last mission on the right shoulder and on the back of the helmet, but there's another insignia: your rank. Use that to distinguish your suit. If there are duplicates, which I know there are, there's an optional feature: heavy armor." Garet picked up one of the suits, marked with the Gunnery Sergeant insignia on the left shoulder. He strained to hold it with one arm, showing the weight of the added heavy armor to the otherwise light suit. "As you can see, my suit has full protection. Heavy armor was added to the shoulders, wrists, and knees. Don't think this is all great, though. It greatly reduces mobility. The heavy armor adds six kilograms to the suit."

By now, Garet was sure the troopers were bored of waiting for their armor. He tossed his suit back into the crate and gave a hand motion. "Well, dig in."
 
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EclipseSquad

SL/GSG Garet Daimun/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA [ES2C] [ES1C] [IH]

If I tell you my name you got to let me in,
You can be the sinner and I'll be the sin,
I take what I want and it's easy to see
I've got everything~

Running his hand along the blade of his knives, he checked for any deformities or dullness. The blades shimmered in the light of the hull, he loved his blades almost as much as his girlfriend, though she came first. Once he was done checking them over he placed them back into the belt they came form, then threw them into the bag.

Once he had put all his equipment away he layed his head back to rest, this was going to be a long trip he might as well make the most of it.

-_-_-_-_-_-

A cold breezed chilled him through the bones, he looked around, nothing felt familiar to him. A man walked toward him as he sat, the cold was more intense now, he could hardly breath. " Get up, follow me." The voice sounded familiar, though he was to cold to lay a fing on it. The farther they went the warmer it got, soon he was sweating.

"Where are we going?" The man turned around, but said nothing, his head cloaked in darkness.

"Here" The man stopped, he pointed out to the horizon; Ryan didn't understand, until they were standing above bodies, they were covered in armor, head to toe. Some looked like casualties, othere wore stormtrooper armor.

"What.. What's the meaning of this?!" The man stood there, no words came out of his mouth. "What is the meaning of this?!" This time he said it louder, the man looked at him.

He pointed to the three stormtroopers in the middle, "look."

He tried to stop himself from looking, he couldn't the bodies were drwing him near, he was agains t his will. Once on top of them he drew the helmet off of the first one; he stood up, his lips started to move, but nothing came out, he was stunned, he couldn't move.

All the bodies dissappeared except for the three in the middle, the two still with helmet on instantley got up, removing there helmets. He tried to escape, but the walls started getting smaller, then the troopers talked, "Why? Why have you done this?"  They kept repeating the question over.

"You!!!" He pointed at the man, he stood there, a grin crossed his face... then he removed the hood. "No, No NO!!!" It was his father.

"Why? Why? Why? Wh.....
 
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Eclipse Squad

TRP/LCPL
RK/1SQD/2PLT/1COM/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA/VE [ES] [2nd Class]

" I am the best at what I do. Only what i do isn't very nice." - Wolverine


"I have wept over to many graves." -Magneto, God loves, Man kills.

  After finishing up the briefing, Kairo gathered up his datapad with the information on it and made to exit the room. Sending Garet a nod before he left, he slipped out the back entrance. I'll need to be at the ship before the others to make sure everything is ready. Good thing I already packed, but a quick double check shouldn't be that out of the way. Striding down the hall, he enjoyed the fact that a few technicians and army grunts that noticed his approach some how had moved to the side a little. At least there were a few perks to being a platoon leader-though the cons far out weighed the pros most of the time.

  Hitting the access panel to his room, he stepped through before the door had completely opened. Kairo walked over to his bed and hit a switch on the side of his luggage, which released the latch and flipped open the container. On one side lay three sets of clothes. Next to them were a few personal grooming tools and other miscellaneous necessities. Kairo reached in and pulled out a small metal case. Flipping it open, he pulled out his datapad and removed its datacard. Slipping that into one of the case's holders, he placed the datapad inside on top of two others. Sealing it all back up, he put the container back inside and closed the suitcase.

  Pealing off his clothes, Kairo picked up two pieces of thin black armor and slide into them. They fit tightly to his body and would protect his legs and torso from any immediate harm up to a laser bullet. Hopefully, he wouldn't be hit, but if that ever happened, regular stormtrooper armor didn't protect much either. Pulling on a pair of tan pants, he then picked up a brown shirt and pulled on a work jacket. The ensemble would perfectly resemble a cargo hauler in comfortable clothes just dropping off supplies.

  "Hmm... where did I put those?" Kairo asked himself as he spun around, looking for his weapons. Spotting them on his desk, he walked across the room, and picked up his Kylon-3 blaster. Sliding the holster and belt through and over his pants, he placed the blaster into its hip holster and then grabbed two extra power cells. Putting them into a small leather case, he slid that along the belt behind his back. Ten other cells were inside his luggage, along with extra daggers. "Speaking of knives..." Kairo absently said as he started grabbing from his stack of knives and placing them in their concealed position on his body. Picking up his retractable vibropike, he attached that to his belt as well before he walked over to his luggage and flipped it over.

  Hitting a concealed panel, he waited as the case's underside began to disappear to reveal a modified blaster rifle. It was actually between the size of a rifle and pistol. There was none other like it in the galaxy-Kairo's "Dragon's Bane." As the memories started to flood to the front of his mind, Kairo grasped a hold of reality quickly. "No time to day dream." Making sure everything was in order one last time, Kairo picked up his case and left his room, locking it behind him.

______________ *Ten minutes later, inside the freighter* ___________

  "You guys ready?" Kairo asked the two pilots.

  "We'll get you there in one piece, don't worry about that. It's getting you off that will be entertaining." The pilot responded.

  Nodding, Kairo exited the cockpit to let them finish their pre-flight check, pondering whether he would find the naval people's sense of entertaining very fun at all. The rest of the squads weren't due to arrive for another forty-five minutes, so Kairo moved to the room he would be using for the flight. He was sharing it with Garet, since the pilot and copilot would be using the other room together. It wasn't much of a room at all for two, but it would suffice. Placing his suitcase at the foot of the small bed, Kairo pulled out another datapad he had in his pants and put it on the small table between the two beds.
As he exited the room, Kairo decided he would go triple check to make sure all the supplies were in order in the cargo bay.

  Twenty minutes later it seemed almost everyone had arrived when Kairo turned away from the last container. He was shocked to find the end of the cargo bay filling up with troopers. "Losing my edge, hopefully I was just concentrating too much on this." Kairo whispered to himself. Spotting Garet finishing up a demonstration of Eclipse's new armor, Kairo walked over and asked, "Everyone here?"

  "Almost. The rest have a few more minutes to get here," Garet replied.

  "All right. I'll be in the cockpit for the launch. Make sure everyone gets settled in."

  Garet nodded, as Kairo walked off.

 
-----------------------
Sergeant First Class Kairo
Platoon Commander

PC/SFC Kairo/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE [CDS][BoA][CoR][BC][CoV][IH]

Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will be victorious in ten thousand battles.
You may forget the past, but it will always haunt your future.
Men can die, but a symbol is eternal.

After running back from the training room to the Eclipse barracks, Jag ran to his bunk and flung open the lid of the chess. After rummaging through a few pieces of clothes he found his barabel microbe armour and put it on. After it was fastened securely he pulled on a blue short and black trousers. After he was finished he pulled out a metal container, which held his ESPO grenade launcher. Well maybe all that heavy weapons training will come in handy&

After that was done Jag pulled out a small wooden box and produced a key from around his neck. After opening the box he pulled out what looked like an antique slug thrower who's design looked as old as when there was a war between the Sith and the Jedi. But Jag took the liberty of modifying this heirloom to hold a blaster clip that fit into the DL models. After fastening it to his hip he put the box back in the chess and went out the door.

When Jag reached the hangar and the squad welcomed the new recruits he went aboard with the rest and sat down next to Riqimo. After setting down the container with the grenade launcher Jag took out his data pad sending a message to his brother to leave his ship alone whilst he was gone. When the squad was settled, Garet introduced the new armour to the squad.

Jag found his armour and just about registered the data pad as he picked up the armour plates individually to test the weight. After he checked the weight only then did he bother to check the data pad that was lying next to the armour. Scanning through it he decided that with his grenade launcher it would be better to have the full heavy armour. Looks like I might have to bring up the rear again&.

When Jag was finished looking over the armour he decided not to try it on until necessary. As he settled back down Riqimo came and sat down next to him checking the contents of a small med pac. "What's with the smaller pack Doc? You not going to fix up nearly the whole squad again?" Jag asked in a joking tone as the squad started to settle in for the ride to Nkllon.


-----------------------
EclipseSquad
TRP/PFC jag fel/2SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Red Dragon Order]
SM/Com Jag Fel/Task Force 1/Eta Squad/2nd Platoon/Red Company/1st Battalion/KBcC Helsa/OFF/Army/RDA(O)

"The fate of the free world is in the hands of a bunch of hustlers and thieves" XXX2
"Say hello to my little friend" Tony Montana
"Im going to make him an offer he cant refuse"
"Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer" Godfather

Installment Three: A little Hauling

Hearing Room Two, Army Headquarters, 1000 Hours

The final voice of the three Arbiters rang in. The man clearly had signs of aging; phlegm interrupted the croaking words and he had to constantly pause to think of what he was going to say next. Garet zoned out at the elongated thoughts coming from his mouth, uninterested in whatever meticulously senile words he had to say.

"Sergeant?" Garet looked up, almost in surprise. The woman had called him, "Pay attention, this is your only chance to defend yourself." Garet nodded, returning to his stolid stare at the darkened faces.

"You were just about to say..." a rustling of papers filled the room as the old man paused yet again, "ah, that NightStalkers Sqaud had joined you, I believe."

"Yes, this was a joint operation," Garet responded in all technicality. "Platoon Commander Kairo was leading NightSt-"

"Do not try to pass the blame to your superiors," the gruff second Arbiter cut off hastily, almost ignorantly. The assumption encroached on Garet's honor.

Through gritted teeth he defended himself in a hurry "The blame is mine, I was simply stating for the Arbit-"

"Then let it stay that way," the old man interrupted now. Garet opened his mouth to send a rebuttle, but the old Arbiter commanded "Continue!" before he could get sound out.

Garet leaned back on a stool that sat behind him. He lifted his right hand to his head, dragged the left with the cuffs, and scratched the shaved scalp. "I didn't see much of anyone the entire trip. I locked myself away in the small dorm that was given to us on the cargo ship. I think Kairo was with the troopers, I can't remember fully." He put his hands on his lap. "As far as I can tell you, nothing went wrong on the ride to Nkllon..."


Nkllon, Nomad City


Garet hopped down a short ways from the door of the cargo ship to the floor of the Docking Bay. He was dressed unusually to fit the persona he was trying to fulfill, gold earrings glinting in the fading light. He wore a white shirt darkened from grease and dirt and everything else from a dirty ship, a worn out brown leather jacket, and equally worn out blue cargo pants. He removed his signature sunglasses and put on a weak smile as he rose from the ground to greet a Dock worker coming to him.

"Evenin'," the worker said as he got within handshaking distance, "Welcome to Nomad City. This yer hauler?" He motioned to the ship Garet just jumped out of.

"Nope, but my crew's on it. This [i]piece[/i] belongs to my associate." Garet wasn't a pro at acting, but he put on the best businessman accent he could with his heavy voice. He had to be as discrete as possible dealing with the officials. "Hey! Come on out here!" Garet yelled into the darkened doorway. Kairo, looking as much like a spacer as he could, hopped out into the light. "Howdy," he said enthusiastically as he gave a nod to the worker.

"Good day for a little haulin'." Kairo added.

"Why don't you open 'er up and lemme see whatcha got?" the Dock worker asked. "All protocol."

Kairo led Garet and the worker to the cargo door. He banged his fist up against te door twice and it began to slowly open. One by one, or sometimes in small groups, the faces of the crew began to appear. The worker snorted as the door finally was fully ajar.

"Motley crew y'have 'ere," the worker pointed out. "You might wanna get a bigger ship to put 'em all in." He didn't wait for a response before striding into the cargo bay and checking out the goods. He pointed to Alan and then to crate, signaling he wanted it open. Alan promptly grabbed a crow bar and pried the crate open.

"Let's see..." the Dock worker said as he rummaged through the contents with his pen, "Machine parts? Is that what all this is?"

Garet was confused. He thought they would've known. "Yeah..." He replied just below awe. He had to ask "Didin't you get our shipping request?"

"Oh, that's not my job," the worker said with a little chuckle, "That's for the guys in Shipping. I just need to make sure it looks like ye're haulin' the right stuff. As soon as I give the 'go', yer off to shipping. and they'll check everything."

Both Garet and Kairo sighed and glanced at one another. "So?" Garet asked, trying to move the process along.

"So... I'll get Shipping up here. Looks good to me." The worker smiled, gave a small meaningless salute, and strode if in some direction.

"Alright guys," Kairo jumped into the Cargo Bay and addressed his soldiers, "everyone can take a break until we're done, Garet and I will take care of the paperwork. Stay close, and together, and try to behave like your personas. We don't want to blow the mission before it begins."

Garet had to bounce away from the door as the troops came like a flood out of the Cargo Bay.

-----------------------
EclipseSquad

SL/GSG Garet Daimun/2SQD/2PLT/1COM/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA [ES2C] [ES1C] [IH]

If I tell you my name you got to let me in,
You can be the sinner and I'll be the sin,
I take what I want and it's easy to see
I've got everything~

Ryan Jolted awake, the familiar sounds around him was enough to make him realize it was just a dream, but the better question was Why was his Father there? And what the hell did it mean?

"Hey, sleepy head let's go."  Ryan looked up to see the familiar face of Brightstar above him. Did I really sleep through the whole trip.

"I'm coming." He grabbed for his bag, it wasn't there. He looked around frantically, the rest of the squad had left, but him of all people had lost his bag.

Then as if by a miracle a duffel bag hit him from behind. He picked up; He looked over it to make sure it was his and that none of the contents had been tampered with. Once he was done he made his way towards the Exit, hoping he wouldn't get left behind.

"Nice of you to join us... Finally" Ryan grinned towards the squad members that awaited him, he didn't feel like socializing, but there was lot's of things he didn't want to do.

"Yea, sorry about that, I sorta got hit from above." It was poor attempt at a sad joke, but lot's of his jokes were sad, so it didn't matter. "So what are we supposed to do?"

"We thought we would find a cantina, maybe hang out socialize." Jag shrugged, " We weren't really given specific order."

"Alright that's fine with me." Ryan picked his bag up off the floor and followed the rest of them, though at the moment he didn't feel right about what he was doing, something wasn't right.

O.c.c Sorry it's so short.
 
-----------------------
Eclipse Squad

TRP/LCPL
RK/1SQD/2PLT/1COM/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA/VE [ES] [2nd Class]

" I am the best at what I do. Only what i do isn't very nice." - Wolverine


"I have wept over to many graves." -Magneto, God loves, Man kills.

---Post Landing---
Jelly Stood up from where he had been sitting waiting for his dizzy spell to get over itself. Jelly then threw his long coat on which concealed his E-11 blaster and his vibroblade and walked over to the pile of duffel bags. He let everybody else get theirs. After which only His bag and RK's bags where left.

He toke both duffel bags so to make sure they weren't inspected or anything. Jelly checked in his duffel on his armor , ammo and the Deathwind slugthrower rifle he had stored in it. After which he noticed RK was looking for his bag. Jelly snickered at his frantic searchings which was really showing. With a hefty  toss Jelly tossed the duffel bag at his back. RK was surprised but toke no notice of him and carried on.

---Nomad City---
Jelly ran down the ramp and came up behind Jag , RK and the two recruits Jelly had yet to meet. They had decided that they wanted to find a Cantina and hangout until orders where given but had no idea where it might be.

"Wait here a second guys." Jelly said as he walked off looking for the hanger Cantina. On most planets or cities there was always a Cantina where the space pirates and other scum would go. Jelly figured there should be one nearby and that it would be the best place to hole up and mix in with the crowd. It didn't take long for him to find it of course as he came to where a brawl was taking place [i] Typical[/] Jelly thought.

Jelly made his way back to the ship and the waiting group

"The Cantina isn't far from here" Jelly said with some excitement in his voice "No better place to blend in with the rest of the scum." Jelly lead them down the street to the bar not far from the hanger.

(I leave it up to yall just wanted my presence to be known)
 
-----------------------
EclipseSquad

TRP/PFC Jelly Bean/2SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/VEA/VE/Tadath[EW1C]

"Only problem with my Job is I dont get the pleasure of seeing the shock on your face when My Bullet passes through the back of your Skull"

"All Judgments are final we're not like the regular Court System we don't have a appeals. You can a peel your butt off the sidewalk though."

Eclipse Motto:
"Get rid of your pride, because we all die eventually."

Jag was furious about being goaded in to the game. But when RK called him a fraidy-nerf Jag deicide to stick it out. After everyone was in place the cantina owner called out, "Right now that everyone's in order let's begin. You there" He pointed to RK, "You pick a number."

"Four." RK replied the look on his face showing his fear of having the rodian.

He ended up kissing a human female a little on the chubby side, but the look on his face showed relief. After they kissed Jag could hear the girl's line shuffling about. When they were ready the owner pointed to Jag.

"What'll it be?"

"One." Jag reluctantly said as the twi'lek girl  much to Jag's relief stepped forward with the grace of a dancer. Now he was relaxed. He was actually happy that he joined in the game. I hope Riqimo get's that dug& Next up was Jelly Bean after pickinh his number he ended up kissing an oldish looking Bothan who tried to hang on to him for as long as possible.

"All right boys and girls," The cantina owner shouted, "This will be the last one before the next round when the girls get to pick!" He pointed to Riqimo.

"Seven." he said straight away with a look of horror on his face. He turned around and the Dug stepped forward.

"Looks like it's your lucky day." The owner said as Riqimo and the Dug - trying to keep hold of Riqimo with it's wings flapping. The kiss to Jag felt like twenty seconds...


-----------------------
EclipseSquad
TRP/LCPL Jag Fel/2SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA/VE
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Red Dragon Order]
SM/Com Jag Fel/Task Force 1/Eta Squad/2nd Platoon/Red Company/1st Battalion/KBcC Helsa/OFF/Army/RDA(O)

"You think you can run this ship better?"
"Yeah."
"Well...you cant!"
Serenity

MkVenner was proud of himself. He'd managed to slither away into the background while the bartender explained his game. He stood half-way in the shadows, watching the game progress with amusement which threatened to burst out into belly-shaking laughter.

Jelly had just led the blonde girl he'd met away when an old, one-armed dock worker came noiselessly up behind Ven and pushed him forward with his one remaining hand. The old man was surprisingly strong, considering his age, and MkVenner hurdled forward, right into the guy's line.

The bartender eyed Ven with the same relish as an executioner whose just been told his pay's been doubled. "New boy, huh? Well, you'll get your turn soon enough."

MkVenner straightened and tried to look nonchalant. The old Rodian turned her back and barked out "Eight!"

The man next to MkVenner, a native by the look of his dress, groaned quietly. He was a good-looking youngster, and the Rodain eventually had to be dragged off him.

The next call fell to a comely human girl, in her early twenties, by the look of her. She had a pretty voice to match, despite the thick native accent that grated on MkVenner's nerves. By some lucky chance, she called out Ven's number.

He kissed her softly and stepped back, the two of them briefly exchanging smiles. She looked from him to a table meaningfully, but MkVenner made a point of pretending not to see.

And why not? a malicious little part of his mind asked.

How long's it been? Eight months? Or is it a year? Time seems to run together these days, doesn't it?

Shut it. This is one of the worst times and places for this to come up at, answered his more dutiful side.


Shut up! MkVenner roared mentally.



-----------------------
Eclipse Squad

TRP PFC
MkVenner/2SQD/2PLT/1COMP/1BAT/1RGT/Tadath/VEA

When in deadly danger,
When beset by doubt,
Run in little circles,
Wave your arms and shout.

Alan stood in the shadows at the back of the bar.  He watched as the members of the Eclipse squad engaged in a frivolous game.

Don't they know that we are on a mission and not shore leave thought Alan.

He watched as an attractive human female started sauntering towards him.  His eyes roamed over her body.  Nice he thought.  She was tall and slender, with curves in all the right places.  What drew his attention the most was her striking red hair which cascaded down her back.

"You not playing?" she purred to him.

"Why play when I can have your company" he replied.

She leaned in close and whispered in his ear "took you long enough to get here, I sent the message to the Empire weeks ago"

Alan stared at her, "you're the intel agent"

"Yes"

"How did you know I was from the Empire?" queried Alan

"Oh please, I've been stationed on this rock for quite some time now, I know someone who is out of place, and I know where the POW's are being kept"

"Where, show me" replied Alan

"What about your friends?" she queried.

Alan scanned the bar.  He could not see Kantar or Lion.

"I don't see them" he replied "we'll free them ourselves"

"What about them?" she asked, pointing to the Eclipse squad.

Alan looked at them, still playing games, "I don't know them" he replied, "Let's go".

The human female, who Alan had found out along the walk was called Teyranna led him to a secluded part of the city.  She stopped and pointed to a large wooden door.

"They're in there" she said "and they are guarded constantly"

"How do you know?"

"I've been watching this place for some time now" she replied "every five hours they change the guards, always three guards enter and three leave"

"Will they be changing shift soon?" asked Alan

"No, they have only recently changed"

"Then let the fun begin" said Alan as he marched towards the door unholstering his blaster. 

Raising his foot, he slammed it into the door.  The door buckled and collapsed inwardly.  Inside, Alan was met with three large human males and a very scrawny human male who was cuffed.  Immediately the men raised their blasters and pointed them at Alan.  With accuracy Alan fired and downed the first man before flinging himself on the ground as blaster bolts rained over his head.  On the floor, Alan scanned his surroundings and saw a pair of legs.  He fired and heard a scream, noticing the guard collapse and grab at his ankle

"Drop it!" shouted the third guard.

Oh crap thought Alan as he turned around and looked up to see the guard pointing his blaster at him.  A shot was heard and the guard dropped to the ground.  Looking around, he saw Teyranna at the doorway holstering her blaster.

"Nice work" said Alan

"Not too bad yourself" she replied

Alan moved over to the cuffed man, he was unconscious but alive.  Looking at his outfit he knew that he was one of the POW's and an officer.  Alan grabbed the guard that he had injured.

"Where are the rest of them?" he shouted at him

"Like I'm going to tell you" replied the guard

Alan raised his fist and slammed it onto the injured guard's ankle.  The guard screamed.

"What the hell are you doing?" said Teyranna as she watched

"My job" replied Alan as he looked back at the guard, "now talk"

The guard told Alan that the remaining POW's were being held in a secret base beneath the planet's surface and how they had been questioning the officer for intel information.  The guard gave Alan a datapad with details of the location of the base.

"You'll never free them you know" said the guard.

Alan looked up from the datapad and at the guard "and why is that?" he asked.

The guard suddenly leaned over and pressed a button.  Without hesitation, Alan dove for the door grabbing Teyranna as he did so.  Seconds later the room exploded violently.

"You saved my life" said Teyranna

"Yes, but I wasn't able to save the officers life" muttered Alan.  Looking down at the datapad he whispered to himself "no other POW's will die, not if I can help it".

"Come on" said Alan as he grabbed Teyranna's hand, "we have to get back to the bar and let everyone know what is going on"

"Not so fast" replied Teyranna as she pulled him into a secluded area.  Kissing him passionately she purred "I'm sure the others can wait for a little while before you tell them"

Alan smiled "I guess it can wait a little while longer" as he kissed her back deeply.

 
-----------------------
TRP/PFC AlanRJ/3SQD/2PLT/1CMP/1RGT/1BAT/Tadath/VEA

Lucky watched disgusted as the Rodian saw Kantar watching her . She didn't like them...She thought they looked ugly and interfered with business. This was an important mission and what was everyone doing? Playing a kissing game. "Hey Kantar!" She shouted. She didn't want the Rodian woman sitting with one of her comrades. Kantar glanced at her but didn't move. He encouraged the woman to come sit with him. Unable to take it any longer Lucky stormed out of the room and decided to go find Kairo.

"He would know what to do. And he would put those men in their place!" He thought angrily.

-----------------------
BRING IT ON!!!!!!!!!!!!